The Rival Finisher was an interesting entry at the Hasbro Toy Fair event. The Rival Finisher is a mag-fed pistol that can be used with a new type of magazine. This makes it an interesting alternative to the Kronos, the most popular Rival collection. The magazine itself isnt as revolutionary as one would hope, but the blaster (while somewhat bare bones in nature) is a solid addition on the cheaper end of the Rival line.
There Are Always More Balls
For the Finisher gives the user a basic pistol-type platform. And I do mean basic. This blaster has a lot less detail than a Kronos or Apollo. The plunger tube is exposed (the orange on the sides), the priming slide is small (though adequate and grippy), the paint is gone, and many things internally are simplified (read further to see). This is not to say that all this is bad. A Rival blaster this big and functional for this price is great. This is just a reminder that Hasbro in this instance has put less emphasis on form and emphasized function. (And some people do prefer a functional aesthetic)
The blaster is, admittedly, a little less comfortable to use than a Kronos. This is noticeable in the grip and trigger; hand contours are gone, while the trigger features a flat surface and a stiff pull. Limited use, you wont mind a lot. However, prolonged use in a war, or Humans v Zombies event could pose a problem.
The loading mechanism itself is similar to the Apollo and Helios; the barrel moves forward, making space for a Rival ball, then closes on completion of the priming action. Obviously, the placement is different the magazine is at the front of the blaster, and not sitting within a handle. The mechanism is essentially the same.
One difference: The shallow magazine well. It does eliminate the need for a jam door. It is different because the release button is located in front. Even though we are talking about Rival magazines it is still very easy to press the release button and pull out the magazine using one hand.
It’s a lot simpler than it would be with a dart mag (like Buzz Bee).
A single tactical rail is located on the top and a priming indicator in the rear. The safety lever and jam release button both sit on the left side, above the trigger.
A New Magazine
The Finisher includes a 7-ball magazine and a side-loading door. You can slide the door open to load up to three balls at a time! Be realistic about your expectations. I dont find it that much easier to load, personally. For those hoping this enables side-loadingnope. You can make it happen, but its so time-consuming so as to be useless. And it depends on a tab not getting recessed into the magazine well. You won’t be reloading as an Xshot Meteor during gameplay.
The magazine doesn’t want to load in my Apollo or Helios. Do note, though, that all Rival mags will work in the Finisher.
Performance
My Finisher averaged 91fps in about 80 shots. It used standard Nerf Rival ammunition, which was just below the 90fps claimed on the box. You can fire fast (there is no slamfire).
Internals
The Finisher is a great example of a recent trend in Nerf: Replace metal compression springs with flexible plastic whenever possible. In this case, the trigger and the magazine release are affected.It does allow cheaper manufacturing!
Otherwise, the internals are as we expect. The loading system of the Apollo/Helios has been mated with a simple priming mechanism.
